We are all like Scheherazade’s husband, in that we want to know what happens next.
E.M. Forster
Curiosity, Storytelling, Fate, Uncertainty, Anticipation, Adventure
E.M. Forster’s Quotes On Topics
Solace | Shadow | Human Reflection | Aesthetic Complexity | Emotion | Debate | Knight | Identity Struggles | Earth Connection | Piety | Growth | Modern Consciousness | Fate | Art | Intentions | Social Reflection | Species | Personal Evolution | Spies | Literary Shift | More
More E.M. Forster Quotes
“This constant reference to genius is another characteristic of the pseudo-scholar. He loves mentioning genius, because the sound of the word exempts him from discovering its meaning.” E.M. Forster
Pseudo-Scholar, Genius Pretense, Intellectual Fraud, Genius, Scholar, Meaning
E.M. Forster Pseudo-Scholar, Genius Pretense, Intellectual Fraud, Genius, Scholar, Meaning“Italian in the mouth of Italians is a deep-voiced stream, with unexpected cataracts and boulders to preserve it from monotony. In Mr. Eager's mouth it resembled nothing so much as an acid whistling fountain which played ever higher and higher, and quicker and quicker, and more and more shrilly, till abruptly it was turned off with a click.” E.M. Forster
Language, Perception, Human Experience, Complexity, Cultural Reflection, Inner Landscape
E.M. Forster Language, Perception, Human Experience, Complexity, Cultural Reflection, Inner Landscape“How do I know what I think until I see what I say?” E.M. Forster
Self Awareness, Expressive Clarity, Thought Exploration, Think, Say, Know
E.M. Forster Self Awareness, Expressive Clarity, Thought Exploration, Think, Say, Know“Do not be proud of your inconsistency. It is a pity, it is a pity that we should be equipped like this. It is a pity that Man cannot be at the same time impressive and truthful.” E.M. Forster
Inconsistency, Truth, Humanity, Authenticity, Balance, Contradiction
E.M. Forster Inconsistency, Truth, Humanity, Authenticity, Balance, Contradiction“Your soul, dear Lucy! I hate the word now, because of all the cant with which superstition has wrapped it round. But we have souls, and I see you ruining yours. I cannot bear it.” E.M. Forster
Soul, Lucy, Hate, Ruin, Superstition Critique, Personal Concern
E.M. Forster Soul, Lucy, Hate, Ruin, Superstition Critique, Personal Concern“Something had changed. He had journeyed – as on rare occasions a man must – till he stood behind right and wrong. On the banks of the grey torrent of life, love is the only flower.” E.M. Forster
Transformation, Love, Human Experience, Inner Landscape, Complexity, Emotional Depth
E.M. Forster Transformation, Love, Human Experience, Inner Landscape, Complexity, Emotional Depth“I believed in a return to Nature once. But how can we return to Nature when we have never been with her? Today, I believe that we must discover Nature. After many conquests we shall attain simplicity. It is our heritage.” E.M. Forster
Nature, Human Experience, Complexity, Perception, Inner Landscape, Social Reflection
E.M. Forster Nature, Human Experience, Complexity, Perception, Inner Landscape, Social Reflection“But after all, what have we to do with taverns? Real menace belongs to the drawing-room.” E.M. Forster
Menace, Taverns, Society, Threat, Social Commentary, Hidden Dangers
E.M. Forster Menace, Taverns, Society, Threat, Social Commentary, Hidden Dangers“At the moment they vanished they were everywhere, the cool benediction of the night descended, the stars sparkled, and the whole universe was a hill.” E.M. Forster
Night, Stars, Universe, Benediction, Cosmic Beauty, Ephemeral Moment
E.M. Forster Night, Stars, Universe, Benediction, Cosmic Beauty, Ephemeral Moment“Only a struggle twists sentimentality and lust together into love.” E.M. Forster
Love Formation, Emotional Conflict, Desire Integration, Inner Struggle, Relationship Dynamics, Sentiment
E.M. Forster Love Formation, Emotional Conflict, Desire Integration, Inner Struggle, Relationship Dynamics, Sentiment“How can the mind take hold of such a country? Generations of invaders have tried, but they remain in exile. The important towns they build are only retreats, their quarrels the malaise of men who cannot find their way home. India knows of their trouble. She knows of the whole world’s trouble, to its uttermost depth. She calls “Come” through her hundred mouths, through objects ridiculous and august. But come to what? She has never defined. She is not a promise, only an appeal.” E.M. Forster
Mind Take Hold, Important Towns, Trouble, Invaders, Generations, Appeal
E.M. Forster Mind Take Hold, Important Towns, Trouble, Invaders, Generations, Appeal“And Englishmen like posing as gods.” E.M. Forster
Cultural Reflection, Human Nature, Social Perception, Complexity, Inner Landscape, Social Perspective
E.M. Forster Cultural Reflection, Human Nature, Social Perception, Complexity, Inner Landscape, Social Perspective“Nonsense and beauty have close connections.” E.M. Forster
Nonsense, Beauty, Connection, Creativity, Humor, Artistic Vision
E.M. Forster Nonsense, Beauty, Connection, Creativity, Humor, Artistic Vision“No English novelist is as great as Tolstoy –that is to say, has given so complete a picture of man’s life, both on its domestic and heroic side. No English novelist has explored man’s soul as deeply as Dostoyevsky. And no novelist anywhere has analysed the modern consciousness as successfully as Marcel Proust.” E.M. Forster
Literary Comparison, Depth Of Exploration, Characterization, Philosophical Reflection, Russian Literature, Modern Consciousness
E.M. Forster Literary Comparison, Depth Of Exploration, Characterization, Philosophical Reflection, Russian Literature, Modern Consciousness“She did not acknowledge that her brain was warped, for the brain itself must assist in that acknowledgment, and she was disordering the very instruments of life.” E.M. Forster
Brain, Acknowledgment, Disorder, Instruments, Inner Conflict, Mental Health
E.M. Forster Brain, Acknowledgment, Disorder, Instruments, Inner Conflict, Mental Health“Oxford is Oxford: not a mere receptacle for youth, like Cambridge. Perhaps it wants its inmates to love it rather than to love one another.” E.M. Forster
Institutional Identity, Cultural Differences, Academic Traditions, Connection To Place, Student Life, Education
E.M. Forster Institutional Identity, Cultural Differences, Academic Traditions, Connection To Place, Student Life, Education“Man has to pick up the use of his functions as he goes along- especially the function of Love.” E.M. Forster
Functions, Love, Pick Up, Man, Use, Along
E.M. Forster Functions, Love, Pick Up, Man, Use, Along“Most of life is so dull that there is nothing to be said about it, and the books and talk that would describe it as interesting are obliged to exaggerate, in the hope of justifying their own existence.” E.M. Forster
Mundane Existence, Literary Exaggeration, Life Reflection, Perceived Interest, Human Experience, Social Commentary
E.M. Forster Mundane Existence, Literary Exaggeration, Life Reflection, Perceived Interest, Human Experience, Social Commentary